Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)

COVID-19: PUNJAB’S DEATHS PER MILLION NOW HALF OF NATIONAL AVERAGE

State also has one of best recovery rates of 70% against countrywid­e figure of 61%

- Ravinder Vasudeva ravinder.vasudeva@hindustant­imes.com

CHANDIGARH : Punjab’s Covid-19 deaths per million are half of the national average even as the state’s death rate of 3% is almost equal to the countrywid­e figure.

As per the state health department’s daily Covid-19 analysis till July 5, Punjab has witnessed 5 deaths per million against overall India figure of 11, which government officials believe is a positive sign.

“The death figure per million reflects that the state has fared well in terms of crisis management. Timely detection of cases and improvemen­t in clinical management are apparently the key reasons behind this,” state Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said.

Till June 5, the state’s death toll was 164 as compared to India’s total of 19,692.

There has been a sudden surge in deaths due to the virus of late, with 99 people succumbing to the virus in June only. Since July 1, the state recorded 26 deaths, taking the toll to 175.

The state nodal officer, however, claims that of the 175 deceased, the coronaviru­s was the only cause of death only among 22 persons.

“In rest of the cases, the patients did not die due to Covid-19 but because they had other ailments like high blood pressure, high sugar, renal complicati­on, etc when they tested positive. Less deaths per million when the state is doing more testing is encouragin­g,” he added.

Analysis also reveals that Punjab’s cases per million population is 209 against India’s figures of 386 positive patients per million. Also, Punjab has one of the best recovery rates of 70% against the national average of 61%.In Punjab, 27% of the total cases are active against India’s 36%.

LUDHIANA EMERGES AS NEW VIRUS HUB

Ludhiana has emerged as the new Covid-19 hub in the state whereas Amritsar, which topped the tally of cases for nearly two months, has shown improvemen­t in the past one week.

In the week preceding July 5, Amritsar witnessed 74 new cases against Ludhiana’s 298, followed by Jalandhar, Sangrur and and Patiala at 137, 127 and 98, respective­ly.

HEALTH DEPT SAYS OF

A TOTAL 175 COVID-19 CASUALTIES, VIRUS WAS THE ONLY CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG 22 AS THE REST SUFFERED FROM OTHER AILMENTS ALSO

 ?? HT FILE ?? Doctors in an isolation ward of a hospital in Amritsar.
HT FILE Doctors in an isolation ward of a hospital in Amritsar.

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